NWAC Observes International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2012

by NationTalk onMarch 6, 2012406 Views

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 6th, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) will join the international community on March 8 th to celebrate International Women’s Day. On this day, NWAC would like to formally acknowledge and honour all Aboriginal women, past and present, who, despite all odds, have kept our languages, customs and cultures alive. NWAC will be hosting two doll-making workshops, with the theme being, “Each Statistic Tells a Story” to encourage learning, honouring and social activism. The first workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 6 th for secondary school students and the second will be held on March 8 th, International Women’s Day. The workshops, to be held in Ottawa, are open to any person who wishes to participate in a hands-on project and who would like to engage in a discussion that will focus on human rights and the Aboriginal women and girls’ experience in Canada. The dolls will be included as part of a travelling art exhibit in memory of the more than 600 missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada. More information on this event can be obtained by calling the contact person identified below.

“This Aboriginal doll-making event is an opportunity to get together as a community in creating a visual reminder of those who have paid the ultimate price for society’s disregard. We hope that this will contribute to the momentum for change,” said President Jeannette Corbiere Lavell.

The idea of a day for women, celebrated all over the world, began at the beginning of the past century in America and Europe. In December 1977 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.

Since those early years, much progress has been made for women in developed and developing countries alike: in many countries, provisions guaranteeing the enjoyment of human rights without discrimination on the basis of sex have been included in constitutions; legal literacy and other measures have been introduced to alert women to their rights and to ensure their access to those rights; the world community has identified violence against women as a clear violation of women’s rights; incorporating gender perspectives into regular programmes and policies has become a priority at the United Nations and in many member states.

Although much remains to be done to achieve full equality, the voices of women are being heard. March 8th provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women and to highlight the needs and concerns of women on national, regional and global agendas.

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For more information on the above, please contact: Irene Goodwin, Director of Evidence to Action 1-800-461-4043 or igoodwin[at]nwac.ca